William Shakespeare Movies

Perhaps the reason there are so many filmed versions of Hamlet is that in each decade every great Shakespeareian actor, and almost any movie actor with a yen to prove his versatility wants to tilt at this particular thespian windmill. Aside from the much more difficult King Lear, it is also one of the few plays by the master that can serve as a star vehicle. This 1969 version of the Bard's great play features the ardent mumblings of the actor Nicol Williamson, who brought his non-Standard British to the role. Williamson's esoteric enunciations were all the rage at the time of this film's revision of Shakespearian tradition, and his vocal mannerisms were arguably more authentic than usual. Scholars tell us that the English of Londoners in Shakespeare's time sounded very much like that spoken by Highland Scots today. Despite his stage success in the role, the vastly capable actor's magnetism was insufficient to make a popular success of this particular version. All the same, it is worth viewing on its own merits, and for supporting performances by future stars Anthony Hopkins and Anjelica Huston. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This feature is a filmed stage production of the tragedy by William Shakespeare. Laurence Harvey stars as Leontes, the jealous king who eventually repents his wrongdoings. Moira Redmond is Queen Hermione who is victimized by the indiscretions of her monarch husband. Jane Asher is the village peasant girl Perdita and Diana Churchill plays Paulina. The role of Autocylus is played admirably by Jim Dale, who also provided the music for this production. The performance comes from a television show produced at the Intertel Wembley studios. Along with Romeo and Juliet, 1968 was a good year for the immortal bard, whose timeless plays were being received by a younger, receptive audience through shrewd production and prudent casting with an eye towards capturing a more youthful audience. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Franco Zeffirelli's adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew is a zesty version of the classic comedy, highlighted by performances by Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor and Nino Rota's score. Instead of simply filming a play, Zeffirelli turned Shakespeare's text into a lively, cinematic movie, with sweeping sets and cinematography. Set in Padua, Italy in the late 1500s, the story concerns the shy Bianca (Natasha Pyne) and the mean-spirited Katarina (Elizabeth Taylor), the two daughters of a rich merchant named Baptista (Michael Hordern). Though Bianca is being courted by a number of young men, Baptista announces that she may not marry until Katarina is wed. None of the men in town are willing to marry Katarina, so Bianca remains unwed, even as more suitors--such as Lucentio (Michael York), a student who begins working as a tutor in the Hordern household just so he can be near Bianca--line up to wed the maiden. No man approaches Katarina until Petruchio (Richard Burton--a wanderer who arrived in Padua just to find a rich wife--falls in love with her. After an intense, occasionally furious, courtship, Katarina eventually agrees to marry him, and they move to Petruchio's shoddy house, which is located outside of the city. Following the wedding, Lucentio reveals that he is not a student, but instead the son of one of the most respected men in town. Lucentio gets permission to marry Bianca and a mild-mannered Katarina shows up at the wedding, giving advice to her sister on how to be a good wife. The Taming of the Shrew received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design, and opened the British Royal Film Festival. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

The legendary Shakespearean character Sir John Falstaff, the notoriously drunken, obese, and yet charming companion of the young Henry V, steps up from supporting character in several plays to the central focus of Orson Welles' Chimes at Midnight, considered by many critics the best of the director's acclaimed Shakespeare films. The script borrows scenes from several plays, but draws most heavily on the two parts of Henry IV, focusing on the shifting relationship between Falstaff and Prince Hal. Beginning as the prince's companion in debauchery and idleness, the corpulent jokester finds himself falling out of favor as the prince comes to terms with the importance of his destiny as England's future leader. While Falstaff's ample wit is still much in evidence, the film places greater emphasis on the tragic character beneath all the joviality, with Welles perfectly embodying this mixture of spiritually youthful prankster and sad adult. While his towering performance naturally takes center stage, the other cast members are also superb. The film's visual elements are also strong, with Welles' attention to composition matching his sensitivity to character. There are technical imperfections due to the film's extremely limited budget, including an inconsistent soundtrack, but they are unable to overshadow the film's many achievements. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

This filmization of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream is actually the New York City Ballet version, as staged by George Balanchine. Topnotch dance artists Suzanne Farrell and Edward Villella head a distinguished troupe in keeping the classic tale of mismatched lovers and magic spells on its toes. At 93 minutes, this film will appeal most to ballet aficionados; don't try to force the kids to watch if they'd rather change over to Barney or the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Though George Balanchine is occasionally listed as the film's director, it was in fact Dan Eriksen who set up the cameras and chose the angles. Midsummer Night's Dream virtually defies a cinematic approach, though Eriksen tries his hardest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this lively horror film, a number of young women have mysteriously vanished and now Inspector Doren is assigned to find them. He goes to the village where the seven murdered maidens lived and ends up assisted by the town witch who leads him to a strange laboratory located in the deepest dungeons of an abandoned castle, where they find the blood-chilling solution to the mystery: the slain women have been rendered undead by their ruthless bloodsucking master, a psychotic professor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The 1965 Othello is literally a photographed stage play: a filmed record of the National Theatre Production of 1964, as staged by John Dexter and starring Laurence Olivier. As the easily led, fatally jealous Moor of Venice, Olivier wears thick black-faced makeup and speaks in an uncharacteristically deep, bellow-like voice. Some considered his portrayal of Othello to be an unflattering stereotype; others regard Olivier's interpretation as one of the finest Shakespearean performances ever captured on film. Less flamboyant, but no less effective, are Frank Finlay as Iago, Maggie Smith as Desdemona, Derek Jacobi as Cassio, and Joyce Redman as Emilia. Oscar nominations went to Olivier, Finlay, Smith, and Redman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hamile is a filmed record of the University of Ghana's production of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Kofi Middleton-Mends plays Hamile, aka Hamlet -- not the Melancholy Dane but the Melancholy Tongan, for the action has been relocated to Tongo. In case there's any confusion, however, here's a little guide: "Ibrahim"is really Polonius, "Karim" is Horatio, "Laitu" in Laertes, "Habiba" is Ophelia, and "Adbuli" is both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Other than the novelty of locale and personnel, the production adheres closely to the bard's original text. Hamile makes up in conviction and energy what it lacks in professional polish. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The English title of this Shakespeare adaptation is Juliet and Romeo, according the heroine top billing for the first time in history. Its Spanish title, evidently concocted to obscure its literary roots, was Los Amentes de Verona. Directed by costume-spectacle "regular" Riccardo Freda, the film stars Gerald Meynier and Rosemarie Dexter as Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers. Freda adapted the original text to make room for his usual stylistic grace notes -- not to mention his characteristic spurts of violence. Filmed in 1964, Giulietta e Romeo was distributed in the U.S. in 1968, most likely to cash in on the popularity of the recently released Franco Zeffirelli version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Shakespeare's 17th century masterpiece about the "Melancholy Dane" was given one of its best screen treatments by Soviet director Grigori Kozintsev. Kozintsev's Elsinore was a real castle in Estonia, utilized metaphorically as the "stone prison" of the mind wherein Hamlet must confine himself in order to avenge his father's death. Hamlet himself is portrayed (by Innokenti Smoktunovsky) as the sole sensitive intellectual in a world made up of debauchers and revellers. Several of Kozintsev directorial choices seem deliberately calculated to inflame the purists: Hamlet's delivers his "To be or not to be" soliloquy with his back to the camera, allowing the audience to fill in its own interpretations. Rarely seen in the US, this Hamlet (or Gamlet, as it was known in Russia) is not always successful, but is certainly more innovative -- and lively -- than Olivier's wildly overpraised 1948 version. Director Grigori Kozintsev would follow Hamlet with an equally radical adaptation of King Lear in 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this curious and inventive drama, director and co-writer Claude Chabrol purloins the Hamlet story from a certain Elizabethan bard, and has his characters move along the same plot outlines. Yvan (Andre Jocelyn) is overcome by grief when his father, a noted businessman, dies and is buried in their small town. Yvan's anger boils up as he watches his mother flirt with his father's brother, and he only feels worse when the two get married. The small-minded, gossiping townspeople carry on behind his back and one day, when Yvan sees a theater marquee advertising "Hamlet" he decides to set out proving that his mother and his father's brother connived to poison his father. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

William Shakespeare's last completed play The Tempest was pared down to 90 minutes for this full-color TV adaptation. Maurice Evans stars as Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, who was usurped by his brother Antonio (William H. Bassett) and exiled to an enchanted island. Living in seclusion with his daughter Miranda (Lee Remick), the beneficent sprite Ariel (Roddy McDowell) and the hideous monstrosity Caliban (Richard Burton), Prospero, utilizing his magical powers, creates a tempest that brings his old enemies to the island. When Miranda, who has never seen a man before, falls in love with Prince Ferdinand (Ronald Radd), Prospero suppresses his thirst for vengeance. Meanwhile, comic relief is provided by Trinculo (Tom Poston) and Sebastian (Paul Ballyntine), who try to harness Caliban's dark powers for their own benefit. Adapted by John Edward Friend, The Tempest was originally telecast February 3, 1960, as a Hallmark Hall of Fame videotaped presentation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Rest Is Silence, a German-made attempt to update Shakespeare, is one of the best and least self-conscious of this minor genre. As indicated by the title, the film's script is a "mufti" version of Hamlet, with young Hardy Kruger trying to prove that his uncle (Peter van Eyck) has killed his father. Direct references to the Shakespeare original abound, right down to the re-enactment of the crime for the benefit of the Uncle and the periodic appearances of the ghost of the hero's father. Interestingly, this 1960 film was released at the same time as a "straight" German version of Hamlet, made for television and starring Maximillian Schell. The original title of Rest Is Silence was Der Rest Ist Schweigen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide